Improved Hypertension Risk Assessment with Photoplethysmographic Recordings Combining Deep Learning and Calibration

Hypertension, a primary risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases, is a global health concern. Early identification and effective management of hypertensive individuals are vital for reducing associated health risks. This study explores the potential of deep learning (DL) techniques, specifically GoogLeNet, ResNet-18, and ResNet-50, for discriminating between normotensive (NTS) and hypertensive (HTS) individuals using photoplethysmographic (PPG) recordings. The research assesses the impact of calibration at different time intervals between measurements, considering intervals less than 1 h, 1-6 h, 6-24 h, and over 24 h. Results indicate that calibration is most effective when measurements are closely spaced, with an accuracy exceeding 90% in all the DL strategies tested. For calibration intervals below 1 h, ResNet-18 achieved the highest accuracy (93.32%), sensitivity (84.09%), specificity (97.30%), and F1-score (88.36%). As the time interval between calibration and test measurements increased, classification performance gradually declined. For intervals exceeding 6 h, accuracy dropped below 81% but with all models maintaining accuracy above 71% even for intervals above 24 h. This study provides valuable insights into the feasibility of using DL for hypertension risk assessment, particularly through PPG recordings. It demonstrates that closely spaced calibration measurements can lead to highly accurate classification, emphasizing the potential for real-time applications. These findings may pave the way for advanced, non-invasive, and continuous blood pressure monitoring methods that are both efficient and reliable.